The government dismissed the pro-Kurdish mayors of two cities and one district today, installing trustees in their place.
The mayors of Mardin and Batman cities, as well as the Halfeti district of Urfa were removed from office due to ongoing “terrorism” investigations against them. Halfeti Mayor Mehmet Karayılan was also taken into custody as part of the investigation.
Saniye Bayram, co-mayor of the district, said they got the news of the trustee appointment at 4 am, with police surrounding both the municipal hall and Karayılan’s house.
“Hundreds of police officers have been searching the municipality since early morning,” she said. “We were going to carry out our duties today, but we weren’t allowed in. We even had a council meeting scheduled, but they barred us from attending. They have seized our will, the people’s will.”
'We weant peace, but it this how it's done?'
She further criticized the government for taking over the municipalities while initiating a public discussion about a potential renewed peace process regarding the Kurdish question.
"They talk about a so-called 'peace process' while appointing trustees to municipalities”, she told bianet. “Of course, we, as the people and as mayors, want a solution. But is this how it’s done? We’ve seen this before. They usurped our will in 2016, and now they’ve dealt another blow to the will of our people.
The peace discussions were unexpectedly initiated by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who went as far as suggesting that Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, could speak in the parliament to declare the disbandment of the group. In exchange, he might be released as part of the right to hope, he said on Oct 22. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan backed his ally’s move, describing it as a “historic opportunity to achieve internal peace.”
Is Turkey heading toward a new peace process? Pro-Kurdish DEM party says ‘We won’t reject an extended hand’
Bayram added, "Halfeti may be our smallest district, but it holds special significance for the state. No matter what, this is an assault on the people’s will. We will stand by our mandate and our municipality. We will never accept the trustees."
Halfeti’s significance lies in its including the birthplace of Öcalan, the Ömerli (Amare) village.
Corruption allegations during AKP rule
The DEM Party took over Halfeti from the ruling AKP, which governed the district between 2019 and 2014. Prior to that, the district municipality was seized by the government from the pro-Kurdish HDP, the DEM’s successor, in 2016.
When DEM regained control in the March elections by receiving 46% of the vote, they claimed the municipality was overburdened with a debt of 460 million liras (~13.3 million US dollars).
The DEM administration had filed several legal complaints against the AKP’s former administration, detailing alleged bid rigging and excessive pricing practices that he claimed “emptied municipal resources.”
“Instead of costing 10 lira, work would be billed at three times the price. We have submitted multiple cases documenting these practices,” Karayılan, the dismissed mayor, had explained.
Return of trustees
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee appointment also dissolves the municipal councils, which are separately elected bodies typically composed of members from various political parties.
The government widely implemented trustee policies during the period of state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016, taking over almost all municipalities run by the HDP in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions. The party regained the municipalities in 2019 by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. All but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over, citing “terrorism” investigations and cases against the mayors.
The DEM Party, the HDP’s successor, won 11 cities among 75 municipalities in the 2024 polls. The government has so far refrained from a widespread takeover of municipalities but appointed a trustee to the Hakkari city in June. With the most recent takeovers, the DEM has lost three of the 11 cities it won.
Additionally, the Interior Ministry took over İstanbul’s Esenyurt district municipality last week, replacing its mayor citing a “terrorism” investigation against him. This marked the first incident where the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lost a municipality for this reason. The mayor, Ahmet Özer, a distinguished academic and an ethic Kurd, was endorsed by DEM in the March elections. (TY/VK)
